One More Hello
by Pyrasaur
Summary: The day afterward, Vanellope was doing important work in a fancy castle — and she was happy to see Soldier Lady again.


After the arcade closed, it was time for Vanellope's first official acts of presidency and there was a heckuva lot of work to do. She had to rule this place right.

But she and Sour Bill had barely started on the new Charter of Fairness when some Oreo guards came to the door.

"Visitor to see you, Madame President."

In the middle of the guards stood Soldier Lady. Just eyeing the guards' spears — that only reached the top of her knee and would probably snap right off on her armour — until then she locked eyes with Vanellope. And gave her a tiny little smile.

Sour Bill laid down his papers. "Were you expecting someone, your Majesty?"

She'd break him of calling her that eventually.

"It's okay," Vanellope told them all, pushing her chocolate-covered pretzel chair back. "She's a friend of mine."

Well, okay, Soldier Lady was a complete stranger — but a complete stranger who had actually cared whether Vanellope was safe. Close enough.

At any rate, the Oreo guards dispersed back to their posts and Vanellope gave her visitor a big ol' winning grin. "So. Uh. How's it hangin'?"

Soldier Lady was super tall, and really pretty, and she had a gun strapped to her leg that was almost as big as Vanellope. "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself the other day with all the action. Sergeant Tamora Calhoun." She snapped off a salute.

"Great to meetcha." No, really, it was great to actually meet her. Vanellope didn't want to have to call her Soldier Lady like some dorky … Well, like a _kid_. "So … what brings you back?"

"Just came back to keep an eye on things." The smile vanished; Calhoun squinted off into the distance like an action hero now. "After the hot time last night, I'll need to run perimeter checks for at least a week to ensure the safety of the Sugar Rush populace. Any remaining cy-bug eggs must be exterminated."

"Well," Vanellope said, "I haven't seen any _giant bug explosions_ today. I think I would've noticed _that_."

She meant it as a joke but honestly, those monsters had been scarier than the other fifteen scariest things Vanellope had ever seen — pouring up out of the ground, the whole world disappearing into their mouths. So her joke flopped. At the edge of Vanellope's vision came bright green: it was Sour Bill drifting to her side, probably asking silently if she knew what she was doing.

"Don't worry, Madame President," Sergeant Calhoun said. "I'll ensure that—"

"Take me with you?"

Calhoun made a face like she had just crammed a bunch of sour Warheads in her mouth. "_Negative._ There's a chance we'll run into more bugs. I'm not willing to put you at risk again."

"But it's to make sure everyone in Sugar Rush is safe," Vanellope forced out, "right? If I'm in charge of this place — and I _am_ in charge of this place — I hafta make sure everything is the way it's supposed to be. Oh, and I know the lay of the land really well, too!" She put on a more confident smirk. C'mon, von Schweetz, sell it like hotcakes. "Yep! I've been all over this game! Every nook, cranny and bonus level. Know 'em all like the back of my hand! I even climbed the Ice Cream Mountains in the middle of a Dairy Queen blizzard once and _believe_ me, you don't wanna do that."

Calhoun just dissected Vanellope with her eyes, her scowl shifting uneasy. "… If you're willing to take the risk, Madame President."

"I was coded ready and willing! Sooo … Partners?" She held out a hand, grinning for all she was worth. "Shake on it?"

The scowly interrogation face stayed put. Calhoun and Sour Bill needed to have a face-making contest. That'd be the showdown of the century.

"You don't have to call me Madame President, either," Vanellope added. "Hang on, here, I'll introduce myself, too: Hello! My name is Vanellope and frilly stuff makes me wanna barf!"

She got one raised eyebrow. Okay, progress, this was good. After a few more seconds — in which Vanellope waved her aching arm, geez, why didn't anyone like her handshakes — Calhoun knelt, folding up around her own long legs. Yep, she probably just couldn't stand Vanellope's adorable winner-ness anymore.

"Alright, bite size, you win." She took Vanellope's hand in hers, a realistic-proportioned hand that was stronger than it looked. "But we're gonna have to be on high alert, and we'll be doing it all on foot. There will be _no_ sight-seeing and _no_ lollygagging around."

"Yes, ma'am!" Vanellope saluted, snapping it off sharp like Calhoun had. "If I'm caught loafing around in the line of duty, I'll have myself thrown in the brig! Can I do that? Sour Bill, can I presidentially order myself into the brig?"

He stared. "Uhhhhhh. I guess …?"

To be honest, she wasn't sure what a brig was, either. "But I won't have to! We're gonna make sure those bug things don't come back!" Vanellope clenched her fists. "C'mon," she told Calhoun, "let's quit standing around yakking about it! I bet we can get as far as the Rock Candy Caverns before the arcade opens!"

Calhoun stood to her full, towering height, looking like she was trying to swallow her smile and failing. "That's the spirit. Alright, we're moving out. If you have to use the little girls' room, do it now."

"I think I can contain myself."

Calhoun nodded firm. "All joking aside …" She shot a look at Sour Bill. "You're her advisor?"

Wide-eyed, looking smaller than usual, Sour Bill nodded.

"It's my sworn duty to defend the innocent. If necessary, I will protect your President with my life."

Maybe he was just so bug-eyed because he hadn't expected Calhoun to notice him — or because he hadn't actually _seen_ her defend people. But she really was that serious about it. Vanellope thought of how scary yesterday had been, those moments that could have been her last but a nice repair guy was holding her hand, and this tough lady had a metric buttload of guns and a grimace on her face like she'd fight everything that even _looked_ at Vanellope.

In the second Sour Bill glanced at Vanellope to read a reaction, he must have caught some of that. He settled taller and, with a firm nod, replied, "Sugar Rush thanks you for all your assistance."

"We sure do. Okay, we're going now! Things to see, peace to restore!" While she left, Vanellope waved to Sour Bill. "Hold down the social order while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'll try," he droned.

They walked together through the echoing, pink hallways, Vanellope hurrying to keep up with Calhoun's crazy giraffe legs.

"I've got the coordinates of the first known cy-bug sighting in this game," Calhoun said like rattling off a scripted cutscene. "But with this much time elapsed, that's not doing to do us a lick of good. We'll just have to pick a direction and get busy."

"Uh huh. Hey, so, what game are you from?"

"We were just plugged in last week, so you probably haven't heard of it. The name's Hero's Duty. Tagline: It's the biggest duty of all."

Oh wow, Vanellope had almost forgotten about Hero's Doodie. She choked on her snorting laughter.

"What's so funny ...?"

With Calhoun's narrowing stare on her, the joke suddenly wasn't that great anymore. "Um, nothing. You should ask Ralph. Oh!" Vanellope paused to address an Oreo guard. "If Ralph comes by? Tell him to come meet up with us! Or Felix, Felix can come along, too!"

"You sure you'd bring Wreck-It along?"

"Well, doy! You saw what he did with that big eruption, didn't you?"

"I saw it," Calhoun said in a cool drawl. "He pulled a nice rabbit out of his hat, but the magician's the one who hides it there in the first place."

Vanellope got the gist of it, but she asked anyway: "Meaning …?"

"He released a cy-bug that put this entire arcade at risk. Then he stopped that bug and all its spawn. He paid off his debt, so me and Junkpile are even. Just even. For now."

"Oh." She knew Ralph wasn't the most popular guy around, but it was the weirdest sting to her heart that Calhoun didn't think he was a hero. Because both of them were really cool when they wanted to be. "I know he's a clumsy goof sometimes. But you should give him another chance!"

Calhoun gave Vanellope a considering look quick enough to miss with one blink. "Yeah?"

"Uh huh. I had my own plans to get into the roster races—"

All of those plans were a complete embarrassment to think about now.

"—But I needed something bigger than I could build on my own. King Jerkbutt had everything locked up tight and I couldn't bust in by myself, and Ralph … Well, he didn't _have_ to help me but he did. If ol' Stinkbrain hadn't come here — and heck, if _I_ hadn't given him another chance — I wouldn't be here in this castle as the ruler of this whole game, or … Or anywhere else that really matters."

As much as all that was true, Vanellope was spilling her guts all over the place and she was noticing her nine-year-old skin again. She watched her shoes against the sugar-glazed floor.

"That's quite a letter of reference," Calhoun said. Her voice sounded like her handshake had felt, firm but kind.

"Yeah," Vanellope said, "Look, Ralph's just my best friend. We're not gonna have a big mushy sleepover and talk about it, are we?"

"I dunno," Calhoun replied, aiming her action-hero gaze at the distant pink fields outside. "I could use a pedicure."

Vanellope giggled a bit. "Oh, sure, a real fancy one. Hey Sarge, I bet I could kick your butt in a pillow fight!"

"You're on, kid."

Once out of the castle, they headed straight for the Donut Plains and their cream-filled crevasses. And Vanellope hoped — just a teensy little bit — that Sergeant Calhoun would find one bug. Just _one_ runty little bug. So the two of them could show it who's boss.


End file.
